My Prayer
by jokergirl2001
Summary: "Lucy Heartfilia, will you become Brain's successor?" Somehow they had managed to convince her into taking on the role of Oracion Seis' Guild Master. And yet, Lucy decided that this may just be one of the best choices she's ever made. No pairing decided.
1. Chapter 1

Lucy Heartfilia sighed as she sat on her designated stool in front of Fairy Tail's bar. It's not like she was complaining or anything; it would just be nice if Natsu actually invites her to tag along with him and Happy to their missions these past days.

But she had just sat there the whole day waiting for Natsu to ask her as usual, only to watch on as the dragon slayer and exceed kept going in and out of the guild. They had taken on a grand total of eleven, make that twelve, jobs so far.

She idly swung her feet back and forth as she gazed around the more than half empty guild, most of the Mages were out on last mission jobs in order to qualify to become an S-class Mage according to Loke who was going to partner up with Gray.

She wondered if maybe Erza had enough time on her hands for her, but she didn't want to bother the readhead.

"Lucy-chan? Natsu still hasn't asked you to go on a job yet?" Mirajane asked frowing in concern.

Lucy flashed Mirajane an assuring smile.

"He's busy trying to become an S-class Mage, I don't want to be a burden."

Mirajane was about to protest to Lucy's statement before shaking her head, "It's okay, I'll get those two to take you on a job at six, so go home and prepare, okay?"

Lucy sent Mirajane a thankful smile before grabbing her blue jacket and exiting the guild.

Loke had told her that the master was the one who decided who would be qualified to take the trials or not, but Lucy couldn't help but disagree at the method. She thought that there were more than a few Mages in the guild who were more than ready to become S-class, such as Levy and Cana. It was kind of unfair that only those who passed the trial can become S-class, it wasn't her place to judge the way Makarov chose to do things, but it would be nice to have the power to change the rules

And she admitted that it would also be nice if she could qualify to become an S-class Mage, but what was she thinking?

She was only in the guild for about six months and there were a lot of more promising Mages to choose from than her, but even so she couldn't help but think about it.

Her being S-class...

Lucy shook her head, what was she thinking? The tittle of S-class belonged to people like Erza, not plain old Lucy. Never plain old Lucy.

She let out a puff of her breath as she stepped onto the river's wall.

She knew that compared to people like Erza that she was a _nobody_ , just a background supporting character in their stories. She'd watch on as one by one everyone of her friends become S-class Mages leaving her behind to watch their backs until they're too far from her reach.

They would all become _somebody_ while she forever remains a _nobody._

Stepping in a childish mockery of over exaggerated steps along the river's wall Lucy shook her head away from those stray negative thoughts that she'd sometimes have. She wished she had worked harder to become stronger, that she had been a better Mage. She didn't want to be her team's weak link anymore.

In fact in the beginning, before that mysterious Fairy Tail Mage had saved her life, she wanted to become someone great. A strong Mage like the dark wizard Zeref, only not evil at all.

She wanted to amount to someone more than who she was now.

But what could she do now? Last minute training won't help her with anything.

She sighed once more before summoning Plue to keep her company.

.o0o.o0o.

Lucy exited her bathroom while drying her hair with one of her many white towels, she couldn't help but shiver as a cold wind blew inside her place.

Wait, cold wind?

She furrowed her eyebrows as she stared at her open window, it couldn't have been Natsu seeing as her place was clean and peaceful, and she was sure she didn't open the window at all.

Cautiously she closed the window before inspecting her place, she quickly spotted an envelope on her desk.

She approached it, a sense of dread filling her as she saw the stamp.

She froze.

Because there lay the Oración Seis mark stamped innocently on the letter.

Lucy knew she should have ripped the envelope up in pieces and throw it in her fireplace, because nothing good could come out of Dark Mages. But she didn't, instead she grabbed the envelope and inspected it closer. This was the first time she had really paid attentin to the Oración Seis mark.

The Oración Seis' crest was formed by the characters "六マ", the Kanji for "six" and the katakana "Ma", which means "Demon".

 _'Six demons'_ Lucy summed up to herself, and she couldn't help but smile a bit at the cheesy villain name.

Call it her sense of humor as both a reader and a writer, but to her the name deserved a chuckle just for being so cheesy.

Above the crest stood "To : Lucy Heartfilia" in a beautiful handwriting.

She knew she didn't have a good enough excuse beyond being curious, but she opened the envelope to find a piece of folded paper.

 _Miss Lucy Heartfilia,_

 _Isn't it interesting how you of all Mages received this letter?_

 _Can you recognize the crest on the envelope? Please, take a guess- We don't think you'll be wrong_

 _Our leader has perished, but that was the result of his own doings. But us? We're here to persuade you_

 _Haven't you ever desired something you know you won't get as you are now?_

 _We can help you..._

Lucy re-read the cryptic letter over and over again before realizing that there wasn't any Spell placed on the letters.

 _'This has to be a trap...'_ Lucy thought to herself as she inspected inside the envelope.

She found a reservation to a restaurant not too far from her place, but far enough that she wouldn't be able to get help in time from her guild.

She gulped, _'I should give this to master...'_

"Pun?"

Lucy jumped in surprise having forgotten that her Spirit was still there.

"You scared me Plue!"

"Pun, pun."

Lucy sighed at her Spirit, "You can go back now Plue."

.o0o.o0o.

Natsu crossed his arms "Where is she?" he wondered as he leaned against the bar right next to Lucy's stool.

"It's been half an hour" Happy muttered worriedly.

"She's fine, probably still deciding what to wear" Natsu assured with a light joke.

Happy nodded, "Aye, that sounds like Lucy."

"Isn't it obvious that Bunny girl ditched you two losers?" Gajeel asked raising an eyebrow at the two.

Natsu sent the iron dragon slayer a glare. "Huh? Luce wouldn't do that."

Gajeel smirked while chewing on a piece of metal, "Ask the shrimp."

Natsu's expectant gaze landed on Levy who fidgeted nervously "Well, you two have been taking on a lot of jobs without her..."

"Oh, Lucy-chan wouldn't ditch Natsu and Happy even if she was mad, so something must have came up" Mirajane said assuring their worries.

.o0o.o0o.

Lucy would never admit to having dressed up nicely to meet her enemies, no way did she spend hours picking out the perfect elegant red dress that slit at her hips nor the perfect black three inch high heels.

And she totally didn't call Cancer to style her hair into an updo.

Okay, maybe she did do those things...

But the moment she stepped into the restaurant she was glad she did, the place did seem rather formal after all.

Immediately a waiter had approached her and took her reservation before ushering her to her table which was in the far back away from prying eyes or eavesdroppers.

 _'There's no turning back now Lucy..'_ she thought to herself as she approached the table.

The fact that there were only two there didn't make her relax at all as she sat down across from the two instantly recognizing them.

Midnight and Cobra.

The former was obviously sleeping while the latter regarded her with disinterest.

 _'This is awkward, what should I say?'_ Lucy wondered.

"Well, usually greetings are the best way to start" Cobra stated.

Lucy jumped slightly before remembering that Cobra could in fact hear other people's thought.

But the blond couldn't help but sweat drop slightly at what the dragon slayer had said, "No, I don't really think saying hello to someone who once tried to kill your comrade is a way to start..." she quietly said.

"Is that so? Isn't that a thing of the past?" Cobra lightly asked.

Lucy couldn't help but give the Mage a blank look "It happened this year."

"Come on, cut us some slack will you? It wasn't anything personal really, we were just following orders."

 _'How can he be so easy-going?'_ Lucy wondered.

"How can I not? Like I said, it was nothing personal" Cobra repeated.

"You almost killed Natsu, and he almost killed Erza!" Lucy hissed at him pointing at him and then his sleeping comrade

"Let's not forget that we weren't the only ones who harmed the other's comrade, hm? Does the name Angel ring any bells?" Cobra smirked.

Lucy's eyes widened "I didn't try to kill her!" she protested looking as if she had been burned by the accusation.

Cobra stared at her intensely for a moment before nodding "I can hear it, you aren't lying" oddly enough he sounded pleased.

But the blond was sure she was imagining it, from what she had seen from her many encounters with Dark Mages they didn't care about their comrades and were rarely loyal.

The blond never noticed her company frowning at her thoughts.

"Are you three ready to order?"

Lucy glanced at the waiter who stood patiently next to her, she had forgotten that she was even in a restaurant at the moment.

"I'll have the premium steak, he'll have the crab sandwhich and the lady will have the special tomato soup" Cobra easily said.

The waiter jotted their orders down before walking away.

"So did you decide whether or not you'll hear me out before you do anything drastic like calling the council or something?" Cobra patiently asked.

Lucy stared at him for a moment before opening her mouth to ask "Are you asking me?"

Cobra blinked at her, "What?" he asked.

Lucy realized that she hadn't really thought about her question, it just kind of escaped her mouth.

"I mean are _you_ the one speaking to me or is it your leader? Were you ordered to speak to me?" Lucy explained.

Cobra glanced at Midnight who was still 'sleeping', "No, we don't take orders from him anymore."

 _'Huh? Something must have happened...'_

"Something which is none of your business Heartfilia."

Lucy frowned at the sudden rudeness "Then care to tell me why you're here?"

"All in due time, first I'll be starting out with some background check."

Lucy didn't say anything deciding to hear him out, so far the two haven't shown any hostile reactions after all.l

"Oración Seis is was a Dark Guild comprised of six incredibly powerful Mages. We formed a third of the Balam Alliance" Cobra drawled out boredly "Do you remember what the goal was?"

Lucy nodded, "Your goal were to retrieve the Dark Magic Nirvana which was capable of turning light into dark."

"But have you ever wondered how our guild came to be?" Cobra asked.

"No, not really" Lucy admitted.

"Oración Seis was created by a man who called himself Brain. He took five children, former slaves from the Tower of Heaven who possessed the highest Magical potential there, and raised them to be members of the guild."

Lucy's eyes widened in surprise, memories of the events that happened because of Jellal rushing in her head.

"It seems I don't have to explain what the Tower of Heaven i.s" Cobra noted.

"Why are you telling me all of this?"

Cobra wasn't surprised to hear through Lucy's thoughts that the blonde thinks that they're trying to trick her.

"We were defeated by an alliance formed between various guilds, but you already know that much."

Lucy held back a sarcastic reply, not that it mattered seeing as Cobra could hear her thoughts.

"Taken to prison by the Rune Knights, it wasn't long before we broke out."

"You broke out?!" Lucy whispered yelled finally realizing that yes, the two wouldn't be here if they hadn't broken out.

"Rather slow aren't we?" Cobra smirked.

Lucy blushed out of embarrassment before realizing something.

"Wait, if a Dark Guild as powerful as Oración Seis broke out of jail, it should be all over the place, right?"

Cobra sighed, "Use that pretty little head of yours."

Lucy frowned at the Dark Mage, he was quite rude in her opinion. And the other one lacked table manners to a huge fault.

But how could they break out of jail without there being an uproar about it? Wait.. uproar...break out...

"It would cause an uproar if people found out you broke out of jail, and the Magic Council would lose face."

"So you do have a brain in that pretty little head of yours."

Lucy knew the two in front of her were dangerous, but she couldn't help but glare at the man.

"So what does all this have to do with me?" Lucy bluntly asked.

"We're getting there, patience blondie. After breaking out of jail we took out our former leader for personal reasons. But we're planning on realizing his ambition."

"His ambition?"

"Yes. You see, he sought to create an actual guild. The strongest guild capable of destroying every other guild. Although his ambition was a bit half-ass he did manage to acquire a base of operations and buy a fairly big property around it."

Lucy couldn't say she wasn't surprised to hear this information, it made sense in her mind. Making good Mages turn evil and recruit them. She shivered at the thought of someone like Erza or Natsu joining a Dark Guild.

"But there's a problem, you see, we don't really think that we could just waltz into the Magic Council and ask to become an official guild, so this is where you come in."

"Eh?"

Cobra smirked at the confused look Lucy had "Become Brain's successor."

"What?!" Lucy yelled in surprise earning a few glances.

She ducked her head down in embarrassment as the other clients turned back to what they were doing.

"What makes you think I'd betray my guild and join up with you guys?" Lucy boldly asked.

"Don't you get tired of not gaining any recognition? Tired of being overshadowed by your teammates? Of always being in the background?"

"You...you-"

"Heard your true feelings."

Angry tears welled up in Lucy's eyes, it was a total invasion of privacy for him to just hear what she felt deep inside.

"I don't think you're weak."

Lucy's eyes snapped up to Cobra who had a serious look to him.

"You did manage to beat Angel after all. Fairy Tail just tend to baby you too much and underestimate you. They don't see your potential, they don't acknowledge your skills."

Lucy stayed quiet, because as much as she wanted to deny it she knew that deep down she did feel like they were babying her and not giving her enough credit.

 _'I can't betray Natsu...'_

"You're going to hold yourself back for your one-sided puppy love towards Natsu?" Cobra questioned mockingly.

She should have said no, it would have been so easy. Say no and run away. Forget ever even talking to these Dark Mages.

"Give me some time to think." she should have just said no, there was nothing to think about.

"You lack resolve."

Cobra and Lucy turned to look at a now awake Midnight who was staring at Lucy through half lidded eyes.

"You want to get stronger and gain some recognition, yet you refuse to let go of Fairy Tail. You want to gain both without any price oblivious to reality, that is what makes you annoying."

Lucy was so surprised that she couldn't speak, even Cobra was surprised that Midnight had spoken so much.

"In reality everything has an asking price. In order for you to gain something, you must sacrifice something else. You're so weak-willed that you lack the resolve to sacrifice something."

Lucy clenched her fists, "Please give me some time to think."

"We'll come to your place tomorrow, same time."

Mutely nodding Lucy made her way out of the restaurant, Midnight's words still playing in her head.

 _"You lack resolve"_

 _'Do you think I lack resolve mama?'_ Lucy wondered looking up at the sky.

* * *

 _ **Chapter End.**_

* * *

 _ **A/N :** As most people know, I'm a huge Lucy fan, and I totally shouldn't be writing anymore stories...oh well, I'll just have to wing it? Oh, and before I forget the basic idea for this story was inspired by **writer168** 's Naruto fanficion **Otokage**. Of course aside from the concept, everything else is original on my part considering I'm working with a different fandom._

 _Anyways, how did you like the first chapter?_

 _I'd appreciate some constructive critism and ideas for future chapters,_

 _Have a nice day!_


	2. Chapter 2

_She was running, a wide smile on her face as the wind breezed through her hair._

 _"Yo Luce."_

 _"Lushy, do ya have some fish?"_

 _"Hello Lucy."_

 _"Can I borrow your shirt? I can't find mine..."_

 _Lucy shook her head at Gray, "Go ask someone else," she suddenly felt herself stopping, her feet wouldn't move anymore._

 _"Don't ask me."_

 _"I wasn't going to Flame-brain."_

 _"What did you say Ice-princess?"_

 _"Friends shouldn't fight."_

 _"Aye, it gets old."_

 _Lucy's eyes widened realizing that they were walking ahead of her, "Guys!" she called out pleadingly._

 _'Can't they see that they're ahead of me?'_

 _But they were already too far from her, she couldn't even see their backs._

 _Lucy looked down, tears welling up in her eyes._

 _"Jeez, you're so slow Luce."_

 _Lucy jumped in surprise before looking up to see her best friend. "Natsu.."_

 _"Come on, everyone's waiting."_

 _"They are?"_

 _Natsu offered her his blazing smile, "Yeah, so let's go." he ordered holding out his hand for her._

 _A smile tugged up at Lucy's lips as she lifted her hand up to grasp his._

 _But he was suddenly standing farther away from her._

 _Lucy frowned stepping forward, but he just kept getting farther away._

 _"What are you waiting for?" Natsu asked._

 _Lucy started running towards him._

 _"Come on!"_

 _"I'm trying, you're just too far away from me!" Lucy yelled desperately trying to grasp his hand._

 _"Just run faster."_

 _"It's not that easy!" Lucy snapped as she tripped and fell on her knees._

 _"What do you mean? You just have to work harder." Natsu asked with that goofy smile of his._

 _"It's still not enough, no matter how fast I keep going you're still too far from my reach!" Lucy explained._

 _"Well, if you're not coming then I'm going on ahead."_

 _"No!" Lucy yelled reaching out again, "Don't leave me behind, take me with you!" she was running again but she still couldn't reach him._

 _He didn't look back, he just kept going and going until she could barely see him._

 _"If you leave me,I'd be so lonely..."_

"Stupid!" Lucy yelled sitting upright.

"Aye!" both Natsu and Happy yelled in surprise.

"Huh?" Lucy mumbled looking at the two home invaders, tears of relief welled up in the corner of her eyes.

"Were you having a bad dream Lushy? You kept tossing and turning." Happy worriedly asked flying towards Lucy.

"Yeah, but it was just a dream, so don't worry about it." Lucy smiled at Happy.

"You shouldn't act so tough when you're obviously sad Luce." Natsu chided.

"Is it that obvious?" Lucy sighed.

"Aye" Happy nodded.

Lucy hugged her knees close to herself, "I was so scared, you know? I almost thought that it was really happening, that you and Natsu were leaving me behind."

"We'd never do that Luce, we're a team." Natsu firmly said

Lucy gave a weak smile, 'I know you two would never leave me intentionally, but I didn't mean it in the physical sense.'

"I know, how about we take a job together today?" Natsu suggested.

"That'd be great." Lucy smiled, her nightmare now in the back of her head.

Then she realized something.

"WHAT ARE YOU TWO DOING IN MY ROOM?!" She roared in anger.

"We were worried." Natsu answered, unaffected by Lucy's rage.

"Huh?" Lucy was confused.

"You never showed up for our job yesterday so we got worried."

Lucy's mouth dropped open in realization, the memories of what had happened the day before playing in her head.

"Aye, where were you?" Happy worriedly asked.

 _"Become Brain's successor."_

"I...something came up." Lucy lied looking the other way.

She didn't want to see Happy and Natsu's hurt faces.

She felt guilty enough already.

.o0o.o0o.

"So what really happened?" Cana asked the moment Lucy took a seat at the table that was currently occupied by Cana, Levy, Wendy, Carla, and Erza.

"What are you talking about?" Lucy asked.

"Yesterday." Erza clarrified, "You ditched Happy and Natsu." She said with a disapproving look.

Levy was quick to defend her best friend by speaking up."I'm sure Lu-chan has her reasons." The Script Mage said.

"How do you guys even know about that?" Lucy asked.

"Happy told us." Carla said.

"Of course..." Lucy sweat dropped while Wendy sent her an apologetic look.

"Answer the question already." Cana urged taking a swig of beer.

Lucy looked away.

How could she tell them what happened?

She had essentially betrayed Fairy Tail by going to meet with Midnight and Cobra.

"Lucy-san?" Wendy worriedly asked.

Lucy knew that they were starting to get suspicious of her, and that they would probably come up with a crazy theory on where she was.

"I ended up meeting with someone I knew. We started talking, and I lost track of time. It really doesn't matter."

She didn't exactly lie. She was just vague.

She hated herself for what she did. Imagine if she had agreed with the two criminals, despite how tempted she was and still is. She would hate herself more, so she decided to decline Cobra's request.

"Oh, a date, huh?" Cana teasingly smirked.

Lucy flushed, in reality the situation could have been called anything but a date, and she denied it.

The topic completely changed when Cana started musing on who Lucy would end up with when they're all older.

Lucy ended up forgetting about the whole dilema for a moment.

But, just like everyone else who tries to forget their troubles, their troubles eventually end up catching up to them.

In Lucy's case it was a bit hard to explain when her cool exterior cracked.

Maybe it was when Makarov announced the S-class trials.

Maybe it was when all her close friends were chosen, except for her.

Maybe it was when her heart couldn't help but ache when Natsu chose Happy as his partner despite knowing that Natsu wouldn't choose her.

Maybe it was when she realized that her nightmare was coming true. Natsu, Happy, Gray, Erza...they were leaving her behind.

Point was, Lucy snapped. The part of her that wanted to deny her own happiness for the sake of her nakama disappeared.

She looked at Natsu.

 _"You're going to hold yourself back for your one-sided puppy love towards Natsu?"_

Cobra wasn't exactly wrong, but he was too far from the truth too.

Natsu was much more than an object of affection for Lucy, who had been all alone before he had brought her to Fairy Tail.

When he's around, Lucy feels she's not alone, she feels like all her troubles don't exist, she feels...happy. The happiest she's ever been.

She doesn't only like Natsu, she needed him. Despite acting like she was independent, Lucy knew she was dependent on Natsu, because he was practically her crutch.

But...

She can't keep relying on him forever.

He was going away soon, only temporarily, but how much longer would it be before he left for real?

Lucy was no fool.

She knew one day Team Natsu would disband.

(Even if she wished with all her heart that things would stay the same, that their adventure would never end.)

And when Team Natsu disbands, what would be left of her?

Would people even remember her?

It made her feel uneasy.

 _"Don't you get tired of not gaining any recognition? Tired of being overshadowed by your teammates? Of always being in the background?"_

And as her guild broke out into another brawl, Lucy knew her answer.

 _Yes!_

She was tired, so very tired of it all. She wanted some of that. She wanted people to look at her like she was important. To respect her. To recognize her.

She knew that staying with Fairy Tail wouldn't help her. They already shined so much that no one would notice if they shined brighter.

 _"You lack resolve."_

Just like Midnight had said, she had to let go.

Lucy swallowed hard, the weight of her decision feeling heavier than ever as she walked over to the Guild's door.

She glanced back at them, memorizing their happy expressions, knowing that she wouldn't be able to see it for a long time once she leaves.

(She held no illusion about being able to stay in Magnolia while she was with Oracion Seis.)

Then she walked out of the guild.

It wasn't until she was halfway back to her place that she realized something.

Her adventure with Fairy Tail...was over, wasn't it?

Lucy couldn't help herself as she broke down crying.

.o0o.o0o.

Lucy took in a deep breath.

"I'll become Brain's successor."

Cobra and Midnight both gave her knowing looks, as if they knew from the very start that she would agree in the end.

Lucy wouldn't be surprised if they did.

"Welcome to the guild, Master." Cobra teasingly said.

.o0o.o0o.

 **Author's Note:** _Well first off thanks for all the support! I'm glad people actually like this story. I mean, some part of me thought people would go insane if any Fairy Tail story involving Lucy was not a NaLu. Thank Kami that wasn't the case._

 _Anyways, before I leave y'all, I'd like to address a negative review I got at the start of this story, I'm not going to call this person out, instead I'll clear up their issue with this story._

 _First off, this reader said that Natsu and Happy would never ditch Lucy. I agree, they would never. Except they kind of did when Natsu along with the other guild members began taking more jobs to get selected for the trials. Chapter 201, page 6. (I checked.)_

 _Second, this reader said Lucy is weak. Well, I hate to break it to anyone who thinks the same, but she isn't. Otherwise she'd be dead. She's the most realistic character in Fairy Tail, every other main character is overpowered. I could give a long rant explaining why Lucy is strong, but just google "Lucy heartfilia is strong" and you're bound to find a lot of hardcore fans explaining why Lucy is badass. Oh, also the latest Fairy Tail chapter._

 _Well, now that the issues been addressed. Have a nice day~!_


	3. Chapter 3

"Is there anything you would like to eat or drink m'am?"

Lucy kindly smiled at the train attendant. "I'll have a glass of water."

"And your companions m'am?"

Lucy offered the obviously intimidated girl a knowing look after sending her away. Truthfully she was still intimidated by Cobra and Midnight considering the former almost bested Natsu and the latter almost defeated Erza.

The two sitting across from her were way out of her league, and if she had to fight them then she knew she would be crushed.

"Good thing we're on you side then, eh?" Cobra teased.

Lucy tensely nodded. It was a good thing indeed. Although she would feel more secure if Cobra stopped reading her thoughts.

"You're asking for the impossible. Besides, it's not my fault you're so damned loud."

Lucy glared at Cobra. ' _AHHHHH_!' She screamed in her head. She noted in satisfaction that Cobra winced at the volume. _'Did it hurt?_ '

"You're being annoying." Cobra grumbled.

 _'So are you. Ever heard of something called privacy?'_

"Ever thought that maybe I don't want to read everyone's thoughts?" He snapped back with a scowl of contempt.

Lucy's eyes widened realizing that Cobra couldn't control his magic.

She felt ashamed at herself at the moment. Sure, they were the ones who asked her to go, but she was the one who accepted despite everything.

She shouldn't be acting so childish towards them.

Not to mention how hard it must be for Cobra. Hearing the thoughts of everyone without being able to stop? It must be hard.

 _'Don't sympthasize_.' She scolded herself and reminded herself of everything they've done.

Cobra snorted at her thought.

"Cobra." Midnight warningly said.

The Dragon Slayer sighed muttering something under his breath before looking out the window.

"I'm sorry." Lucy muttered knowing he could hear her.

She really was sorry despite how much she tried to convince herself not to be.

Placing her hands on her lap she looked down in order to avoid looking at Cobra and Midnight.

Maybe she could imagine that she was still part of Fairy Tail. That she hadn't just abandon her nakama because of her selfish whims.

 _'Get a grip of yourself Lucy. Fairy Tail was over from the moment you walked out.'_ She clenched her firsts in frustration, because this was what she wanted.

She was finally getting every thing she wanted even if she had to work with criminals to get it.

Briefly she wondered if the ends justified the means.

.o0o.o0o.

Cobra was annoyed.

Why did the Celestial Mage had to keep doubting her choice every five minutes after convincing herself not to?

At first it was amusing, but now it was just plain annoying.

He envied Midnight for being able to sleep through everything.

 _'What was I thinking? These two are criminals wanted by the council for crying out loud!'_

Cobra sighed.

Lucy met all the requirements for being their new leader, but she was sorely lacking in the empathy he thought she possessed.

Was this really the girl who Angel described as being so foolish as to try to sacrifice herself for her spirits?

It didn't seem like it.

 _'But...he was kidnapped just like Erza...wasn't he?'_

Cobra tensed, his mind wandering back to his childhood.

Lonely. Starved. Slaved. Branded. Four words a kid shouldn't have been so intimate with. He was just a kid back then. Just a kid. Yet no one cared, because they didn't even know he existed.

"Um,"

He snapped out of his thoughts to look at the girl who was peeking up shyly at him, her eyelashes fluttering. If he had been any other man, he would have been a little aroused, as it stood he really was too annoyed at her to deem her attractive.

"What..." She trailed off probably deciding against asking him.

He heard what she was going to ask anyways.

 _What was it like?_

He wasn't going to answer. She didn't deserve to know anything.

 _'Maybe I'm in the wrong...maybe they're not the bad guys. Maybe..just maybe they're the victims.'_

Cobra's eyes widened slightly.

 _'Who am I kidding? They **are** the victims. '_

He's never heard anyone think anything along those lines before. Everyone thought they were bad guys, they never questioned it. But here, this girl was actually seeing the truth.

 _'It isn't fair. Kids aren't supposed to go through slaverly. So why did Erza, Cobra, Midnight, and even Angel had to go through it? Just for a selfish whim of resurecting Zeref? Their lives were ruined for something selfish like that?!'_

Cobra would never admit it, but oddly enough Lucy's thoughts were actually making him happy, after all no one's ever been mad for him instead of at him. Not to mention how sincere the girl was being.

For the first time Cobra was glad that they chose Lucy to replace Brain. She had something Brain, and hell even the most self righteous pricks he's seen, doesn't have. She had empathy and was able to look at things through their perspective.

.o0o.o0o.

Midnight's eyes opened, his daydream ending as he took in his surroundings.

He was still in a train.

Cobra was sleeping besides him.

The girl, Lucy, was also sleeping.

Inwardly he was mildly surprised at that considering the girl wasn't exactly warming up to them easily. He would be insulted if she did considering her cautious nature was one of the reasons she was chosen.

Yet he wasn't very surprised to see a blanket covering the girl. Angel did make it a point to keep pointing out how annoyingly empathatic and caring the girl was.

Of course Cobra would easily warm up to the girl, the dragon slayer did value honestly and loyalty highly. Two qualities that Lucy had in spades.

Not to mention how both Lucy and Cobra had odd choices in companions that they were fiercly protective of, spirits and snakes respectively.

Midnight was pleased. They needed Lucy to be what they saw when they were observing her. They needed her to be their Lucky Lucy, not her father's, and certainly not Fairy Tail's.

The future they were aiming for needed a lot of luck to be achieved after all.

.o0o.o0o.

Lucy's eyes fluttered open.

She was immediately surprised to realize that she had fallen asleep in the presence of Cobra and Midnight, but quickly shook the thought away.

They weren't bad guys. At least not completely.

Anti-villains, her mind supplied. Meaning they were on the side of the bad guys, but their personalities and actions weren't evil.

Besides, they were now her nakama and responsibility.

Lucy smiled slightly as Cobra snored, his snores were quiet compared to Natsu's. Midnight on the other hand didn't snore at all.

Shaking her head she went into her traveling bag to grab a book to pass time.

She blinked when she pulled out a pile of papers.

 _'This is my story..'_ She realized.

The stories she wrote about her adventures at Fairy Tail.

Feeling melancholy she filtered through the pages, only stopping once she realized one important thing.

The pages she held in her hands were not her story. Despite it being told from mostly her perspective, it was obvious that she wasn't the main character.

 _'I forgot to let Levy read it before I left...'_

She barely noticed her lack of suffix regarding Levy's name. She didn't deserve to call the blue haired girl Levy-chan.

"Read what?"

Lucy startled slightly at Cobra's voice.

"N-nothing!" She squeaked stuffing the pages in her bag.

He looked amused. "Time to get off this train and get a room to stay at before catching another train."

Lucy nodded, not trusting herself to say anything important.

.o0o.o0o.

"We're sharing the same room?" Lucy asked the two in surprise.

"We're not exactly rich enough to afford seperate rooms." Cobra lightly said.

"And you used to share yours." Midnight stated.

"T-t-that's different!" Lucy stammered remembering how Natsu would sleep with her.

Cobra rolled his eyes at her thoughts, trust the girl to not go a day without thinking about lover boy. "Sorry that we don't have pink hair, fire magic, and a massive appetite."

"Don't forget about the cat." Midnight added.

Instead of being annoyed, Lucy looked surprised.

 _'Did...did Midnight actually just crack a joke?'_

Cobra snickered before he said, "If it makes you feel better I can sleep on the floor."

Lucy blinked at him.

He heard her thoughts and knew she was slightly touched at his gesture.

"Shouldn't you be off to publish that book of yours?" He asked before she could thank him.

He didn't enjoy hearing her thank him, because really? It should be the other way around. She was helping them out after all. She left her guild for them, albeit her own motives were part of the reason, but still.

Lucy blushed. "You knew?"

"I can hear your thoughts, remember?"

He smirked in amusement as Lucy stomped out of the door muttering about stupid dragon slayers. He should be offended at how she's lumping him with Dragneel, but he was more amused than annoyed.

His smirk dropped as he realized how foreign the scene that just played out was.

If he had been teasing towards Brain, Brain would have killed him. Heck, Brain almost killed him a few months ago.

Lucy on the other hand hadn't even thought of hurting him or punishing him despite how obvious he and Midnight made it that she was now their leader, and could even take them to jail if she wanted to.

Or maybe they weren't obvious enough?

Just saying she was the new Brain wasn't really a way of telling her she could to whatever she wanted to them, he sheepishly realized.

He doubted she would do anything bad to them either way. She was just too kind for her own good.

And maybe...just maybe choosing Lucy was really the best choice they could have made.

 _'And maybe I'm already warming up to her.'_

Well, he knew she would have a much harder time to get the others to warm up to her. After all, they couldn't read her thoughts like he could.

"Her book?" Midnight asked.

Cobra shrugged. "It's pretty good actually." He actually enjoyed it after all.

The humor, plot, and twists were interesting enough to make him keep reading despite how Lucy glorified Fairy Tail to an annoying level.

.o0o.o0o.

Midnight's lip curled up slightly in an amused smirk.

"W-what?" Lucy asked.

"I said, we're heading to Era tomorrow, where the Magic Council is located." Cobra repeated.

Lucy looked like she was going to faint.

"You two are insane."

Midnight didn't blame her, it did seem like they were mentally unstable.

What sort of criminals would go to the Magic Council anyways?


End file.
